Sunday, July 25, 2010

Highs and Lows

Whew, it's been a head-spinning few days here, with some major highs and lows.

I'll start with one of the high points...Ken and the boys gave me a new Macbook for my birthday on Friday! I was absolutely stunned by such a generous gift (plus they also gave me earrings and books!). Ken is such a thoughtful, caring person. He knew that my beloved old iBook is quickly becoming obsolete (and my even older eMac is already obsolete). Both of the old computers can only run old systems, so much of the newer software won't run on them anymore. And my old laptop has only 1 GB of memory left on it! I've deleted every non-essential thing I can, but it's still so full that everything runs really slow. I still haven't uploaded my vacation pictures from my camera because there isn't room on the hard drive for them! So, I am really excited about having a new laptop that can run all the software and store all my photos. In addition, it was a very nice birthday celebration. We were at my mom's house in Connecticut, dropping off our kids for their annual week sailing with their grandparents, so it was fun to be with my family on my birthday. Of course, my mom went all out, with an enormous dinner and homemade cake, plus flowers and gifts!

So, with such a wonderful day, what could have gone wrong? We had a terrible scare with Jamie. Last Wednesday evening, he got stung by a bee...and he's allergic to bee stings. Fortunately, he did not have an anaphylactic reaction this time (a bee-keeping friend told us that bee allergies are species-specific), but it was absolutely terrifying. We were at our neighbor's pool, and Ken and I hustled the boys back to our house, gave Jamie Benadryl, and stood by with Epi-pens ready. We were so relieved that he didn't need the Epi-pens and didn't have to go to the hospital, but he woke up the next morning and the area around the sting (just above his eyebrow) was all swollen. The swelling got worse over the next day, and Jamie woke us up at 5 am on Friday because it had gotten so swollen that he could hardly open that eye anymore. So, while we were trying to get packed for the trip to CT, we were on the phone with the doctor, wondering whether we might end up spending a day in the hospital after all. Thankfully, Ken was able to stay home from work and took Jamie in to see the doctor, and she just prescribed Prednisone (steroids) for him. By the time we left him Saturday morning, Jamie was doing much, much better, but what a frightening ordeal it all was!

And another low point...Guess what I gave myself for my 45th birthday? Doxycycline. Yup, I definitely still have Lyme disease and had to go back on the meds Thursday. I was only off the medications for five days, but I was feeling worse and worse every day. Even though I suspected the infection wasn't gone yet, it was still a real downer to face that fact. I had a mini breakdown Thursday night as I went through our big bin of medications to find the three Lyme medications I had put away less than a week earlier. Since going back on the medications, I'm feeling much better. I was tired from all the stress and exertion packing the last two days, but the knee pain and achiness went away almost immediately after re-starting the meds. Now I'm waiting for yet another herx reaction (worsening of symptoms) to begin again. So, it looks like I'm stuck with two illnesses for a while longer.

The good news is that the boys are off on their adventure with their grandparents and cousin for a week (aka the Grandchildren's Cruise), and I can really use this quiet week right now. I love my sons and enjoy their company, but it is tiring during the summer having so little downtime. Plus, we usually have a whole houseful of boys, not just our two!! I'm thrilled that they've both felt well enough to have friends over all summer, but this break is just what I need right now. Ken and I thoroughly enjoyed our quiet evening alone last night. Let's hope we're done with the lows for now...

9 comments:

Happy Birthday, Sue! I just got my first laptop, and it is, indeed, heavenly. I'm so glad your family made it a fun birthday. I'm also glad it wasn't worse for Jamie -- I can only imagine your panic. And hopefully you'll beat the Lyme this time. I'll keep you in my prayers. Hugs!

Wow, Sue. The ups and downs of the last few days have really been something for you. I hope the herx isn't too bad (or are we supposed to hope it IS bad because it means it's getting at the bacteria?) Well, even if it's bad, you'll have your new laptop for company. And I'm glad Jamie is okay.

Happy Birthday! I like what San said, forget the lows :) And a MacBook - wow. Lots of fun to ensue, I hope! I'm really glad Jamie was okay; so, so scary! Hope you don't herx with the restart of Doxy ... thinking of you.

An iMac ... now THAT IS a nice laptop. You will be taking the viral world by storm on it.

I'm so glad Jamie is okay and that the boys can now enjoy their week with their grandparents.

I'm glad as well for a week of quiet and respite for you. I'm living with two friends and one of them has two high-energy grandchildren and I am struggling with all the new noise and commotion. So I do understand in a small way.

Congrats on the birthday and the Macbook; Boo hiss on the Lyme (although I can tell that you weren't really surprised). I'm glad Jamie is better, and I hope that you're getting the most out of your quieter week.

I have had Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS or CFIDS) since March 2002. My 19-year old and 16-year old sons also have CFS, and my older son also has Lyme disease plus two other tick infections. This blog is about how our family is learning to live with chronic illness, with a focus on living and enjoying our lives in spite of these challenges.